Swift Reservoir opens early, and will get a hefty trout plant for April 27 opener

Swift Reservoir in Southwest Washington will open for fishing from April 27 through Nov. 30.

A recent rule change by the state Fish and Wildlife Commission has allowed the reservoir to open earlier as it normally would have been closed from May 1 until the first Saturday in June.

Fisheries believes the reintroduction efforts of landlocked salmon and steelhead have boosted significant numbers of downstream smolts that would migrate through the reservoir through May.

But, in a news release fisheries says due to delays, adult reintroduction efforts and smolt production are just getting under way, so there is no need to close the reservoir in May this year, and the fishery can open during the traditional statewide lowland lakes opening date of April 27.

To further boost fishing opportunity, state Fish and Wildlife is planting 53,000 catchable-sized rainbow trout into the reservoir for the April 27 opener.

Landlocked salmon rules will begin on April 27 in the upper watershed to allow adult salmon released into those waters to spawn. Under that rule, all salmon longer than 15 inches in length must be released and anglers must count any other salmon caught toward their daily trout limit.

The trout daily limit is five fish through Sept. 1, when the limit will increase to 10. All bull trout must be released. Selective gear rules apply from posted markers approximately 3/8-mile below eagle Cliff Bridge to the bridge. The two pole fishing endorsement is not allowed.

About the author

A Seattle native, Mark Yuasa is a lifelong angler who grew up near the banks of Lake Washington and has been covering fishing and outdoors for more than 21 years for The Seattle Times. Read his regular fishing report every Thursday and the outdoor notebook every Sunday.